Flexible golf tee



May 24, 1949- 4 H. D. HENDRICKS FLEXIBLE GOLF TEE Filed April 29, 1947 Homer D. fiend/"fake Patented May 24, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to a flexible golf tee.

In playing golf, most tees are lost due to the player swinging too low and either breaking the tee or knocking same out of the ground, in which case it travels some distance from the driving area. It is the natural inclination of both the player and the caddy to follow the course of the ball until same comes to rest, and then to look for the tee, at which time it will often be lost.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a golf tee which has its head flexibly mounted on the body so that the head will yield if struck by the head of the golf club that will snap back when the club has passed by.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a flexible golf tee in which the head is yieldably mounted for longitudinal movement, but in which the head is rigidly connected to the stem as far as rotary movement for screwing the tee into the ground is concerned.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a yieldable golf tee in which the stem or shank is comprised of a plurality of sections non-rotatably interconnected, but which are axially connected by a single resilient member.

Still other objects, advantages, and improvements will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the anneXed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through the flexible golf tee of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the head of the tee with the center plug removed.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the section line 33 of Figure 1, showing the interconnection of the uppermost section of the stem and the head of the tee.

Figure 4 is a side elevational view of the point.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the section line 5-5 of Figure 1, showing the interconnection of two sections of the stem.

Figure 6 is a sectional view on section line 65 of Figure 1, showing the interconnection of the lowermost section of the tee with the point.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and to Figure 4, in particular, this figure shows the point 10 of bullet-shaped construction with a long lead thread ll formed thereon. If, however, it be desired to use the tee only in hard ground, the thread I! may, of course, be omitted. At its top, the point l0 has a diametral tongue l2, which latter is formed with a transverse hole 13.

The stem or shank of the tee is here shown as comprised of four sections, but it should be obvious that the exact number is not material;

a greater or lesser number could be used, as desirable. The four stem sections I5, 25, 22, and 23 are identical, with the exception of the bottom section 55. Each of the sections has a central bore it therethrough, which bores are aligned in the normal relative positions of the sections, as shown in Figure 1. The bottom section l5 has in its lower face a diametral groove It which is complementary to and receives the tongue l2 on the point it. The four sections of the shank, including the bottom section I5, are interconnected by a tongue-and-groove construction comprising a pair of diametral grooves lll8 on the top of each section, these being positioned in mutual right angle relationship. Each of the succeeding upper sections 2 I, 22, and 23 has on its bottom a pair of tongues l9--20, these being positioned at mutual right angles and complementary to the grooves l'l'l8.

The head of the tee is of the usual construction as far as its exterior is concerned, being comprised of a frusto-conical outer surface 26 which is merged near its upper face into a cylindrical section 21. On its lower and smaller base, the frusto-conical surface 26 is provided with grooves 2 l--25 positioned at mutual right angles and complementary to and receiving the tongues l9-2ll on the upper surface of the top stem section 23. The head is formed with the usual concave ball-receiving surface 28. Centrally of the ball-receiving surface 28, there is formed an inverted frusto-conical recess 29 which merges at its apex into a central bore 3|. In the assembled relationship, as shown in Figure 1, the central bore Si in the top of the head is aligned with the central bores M in the stem sections 23, 22, 2!, and 15. A rubber band 32 is looped through the hole E3 in the tongue l2 on the point Ill, and the upper ends of this band are tied into a knot which is tautly held in the frusto-conical recess 29 in the top of the head. After the point Ill, stem sections [5, 2|, Z2, and 23, and top 26 have been assembled and the knot in the upper end of the rubber band 32 tied, the frusto-conical recess 29 is closed by a plug 30 of hard rubber which has its top surface of concave shape to conform to the concave shape of the ball-receiving surface 28 in the top of the head.

In operation, the tee is screwed in the ground and used in the usual manner. As previously stated, the tee may be provided without the thread H on the point It for use in hard ground. In case the head 26, or even the upper stem section 23, should be struck by the head of the golf club, the lower sections of the stem are flexed about the point l0, partially separating from each other in wedge-shaped gaps. However, the tongues |920 on the top stem section 23 will not be fully withdrawn from the grooves 25-44 in the head 26, and likewise the tongues l9-20 on the tops of the lower stem sections will not be fully withdrawn from the grooves |'ll8 in the lower face of the next upper stem section. After the head of the golfclubihas passed by, the rubber band 3; will pull thehead 25 and stem sections 23, 22, 2|, and I5 back into vertical aligned relationship with the point 10, as shown in Figure 1.

It will be apparent that, while the above description and illustration present the preferred modification of the invention, various changes may be made in the sizes, proportions, and relative arrangements of the various parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, what I clairnas new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

,1, A golf tee comprising a stem comprising apl rality of sections arranged in end-,to-end relatienship and formed with axially-aligned bores, a head at one end of said stem, a point at the opposite end of said stem, and a flexible contractile member extending through the bores or the stem sections haying one end secured to said point and having the other end carried by said head to thereby assemble said head, stem, and point in at ly flexible. l tion d point having an external thread, and interlocking means coope t n b tw n the en f aid tem d s i h ad and aidp in a d p e en n r a xi e at qn o s id he d, em, and po h eby said point can be screwed into the ground by turning said head with said point in contact with theground.

2. A golf tee comprising a stem comprising a plurality of sections arranged ingend-toeend relationship and formed with axially aligned bores, a

her y m dp n an e re d into th groundby turning said head with said point in o t w h. th s imd- A o f t ecq pris s a m om ris n a l a y f. s tion rr ng d in v cld r aion i and i rm w t a lly igned b re be h a atom a d 9 aid stem, a point a e opposit end of said stern, and a, flexible cont a i e mem er exte n t o h a d bo e and stretched between said head and said stem and .a sem lin ts d h ad stem, d o t in r ai el flexi l rela i n, id point ha ing an e ternal thread, and interlocking means cooperating between and preventing relative rotation of said head and stem and said stem and point whereby said point can be screwed into the ground by turning said head with said point in contact with the ground, said interlocking means comprising intersecting tongue and groove means permitting tilting of said head and stem, relative to each other.

A olf te -co ises as em com s a plurality of sections arranged in end to end relationship and formed with axially aligned bores, a head at the upper end of said stem, a point at the lower end of said stem, and a flexible contractile member extending through the bores of the stem sections having one end secured to said point and havingthe other end carried by said head, whereby said head, said stem sections, and said point can tilt laterally relative to each other when the tee is struck and be returned spend to end relationship thereafter by said flexible gcontractile member, intersecting tongue and' lfoove cooperatively formed in the meeting ends of said stem sections and in the meeting end of said head, preventing relative rotation of said stem sections and head while in relatively tilted position, an external thread on said point, and tongue and slot means operating between said point and the lower end of said stem preventing rotation of said point relative to said stem and said head, whereby said point can be screwed into the ground b turning said head with said point in contact with the ground.

5. A golf tee comprising a. stem comprising a plurality of sections arranged inend-to-endrelationship and formed withaxially aligned bores, a head at one end of said stem, a point at the opposite end of said stem, and a flexible contractile member extending through said bore and stretched between'said head and said stem .and assembling said head, stem, and point relatively flexible relation-said point having an external thread, and-interlocking m ans cooperating between and preventing relative rotatiqn of said head and stem and said stem and point whereby said point can be screwed into the ground by turning said head with said point in contact with the ground, said interlocking means comprising intersecting tongue and groov means permitting tilting of said head and stem, :relative to each other, said flexible contractile member comprising a rubber band.

HOMER D.HENDRICK S.

. REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UN ED STATES A S Number Name Date 1,641,155 Clausing Sept. 6,1927 1,736,583 Deike Nov. 19,-; 1929 

